The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-08-19
GATHERING THE NEWS.
ACQUAINTANCE IS THE NEWSPAPER
MANS STOCK IN TRADE.


Certain Persons who Seem to BE News
Eescrvoirs-Never Violate Confidence.
4 District Man"
was made aware at the beginning OF
my six years experience as district
man. that acquaintance is the stock IN
trade Of a newspaper man. i0und lhal
the next step was 20 make friends OF
acouaintances. and then 10 retain their
friendship. This, in connection with a
faculty Of transferring thoughts TO paper,
making them readable and acceptable, anu
having no scruples against hard work ana
plentv Of il, which the district man can
find without advertising for IL, makes up
the elements 10 insure success in covering
a district. or in fact, 10 insure success III
any branch Of newspaper WORK. IL HIS
been my purpose to become KNOWN 10
every man Of note or prominence, all
politicians. all officials, in fact, to every
! one i'm the various towns / cover whose
acquaintance may be Of almost inestim-
able worth. 1t is not enough to cultivate
| the acquaintance Of those representing
the sterner sex. find it fully as essen
/ tial. and certainly not less agreeable, 10 be
ON cordial terms with femininity, and 10
many a female acquaintance am | in
dcbted for information that has resulted
i'm columns Of acceptable matter. In my
/ list of acquantances throughout my dis
trict are, il is safe to say, thousands
among them representatives Of every
branch Of the territOry's society
SOMETHING LIKE STOPPING.
/ a. st,,1fl~a hrrrfnf
goods You 20 to certain stores for GER
tain articles, so go TO certain individuals
for certain kinds OF information As a
result Of the making up of my acquaint-
ance list ] know just whom to call upon
personally, by telephone or otherwise, in
any town i'm the district 10 enlighten me
upon any subject that may be Of public
interest The quality or class of news de-
sired is the key to the persons TO whom
such news would probably be known, and
of whom inquiry should be made. There
are certain persons who seem TO be news
reservoirs Here it may be hackman,
there a barber, in another town hotel
/ clerk. elsewhere a trader, but in every
! town there is some one person who knows
! an that Is astir, and IL is a. much part
Of the business Of the district man TO
| look up that person and then cultivate his
acquaintance as it Is for him 10 begin
| Tuesday 10 look forward with delight 10
! the arrival of his check Saturday.
| The same general principles hold in the
/ rural districts that are recognized IN the
city rs prerequisites for news gathering.
! Never violate confidence and jump into
print with a story before your informer is
ready 60 say let 'er 90" That has been
with me AN inheMble rule. On a district
where official information is likely 10
come from those met daily year in and
year ont. one violation under such circum-
/ stances is more than likely 10 ruin all tu-
ture chances Of trust in that quarter The
rule laid down is not adopted as a matter
/ of eypediency. but as one Of honor, and |
have found that after having gained that
confidence honor hath its own reward.
Having travelled over some portion Of
my district daily for six years / have
/ formed the acquaintance Of railroad ana
express men, regular patrons Of the sew
| eral railroads mentioned, telegraph and
/ telephone operators, all Of whom know
my calling, and IL is a very common oc-
] currence for some one of them 10 yOlun-
| teer information IL is often the case that
some friend telegraphs me Of an important
event, and the receipt Of telephone mes
sagcs that serve me good purpose is OF
almost daily occurrence.
MUST BE A HUSTLER
BY no means do ] wish TO convey the
idea that district man'sn friends are so
numerous and oblging that he can sit
around and have his news served mp to
him hot without any eXertion Oh his part
/ Quite the contrary. Prom the nature Of
the case and the duties that devolve upon
him. he must be considerable Of 'hust-
Ter" He must be his own exchange ed
itor and look carefully after the local pa
pers on his district in order TO know what
is fcrmcnting in his multitude Of towns;
| he is ION CALI twentyfOur hours day.
and his only regular assignment is 40
keep his district cOyered,n in short, he is
| expected TO let nothing important escape
his attention and 10 be first every time In
| the race for news. The manifestations Of
friendlness and consideration TO which /
have referred form a goodly portion of the
| means bv which Information is obtained
II would be well nigh impossible for
| one individual 70 Cover such an extent
OF territory as am suppO7cu 10 'dno AttiV
Of, end DO it thoroughly, were it not for
the voluntary offering Of friends, who can
Justly claim credit for part Of whatever
success / may have gained. Then, again,
! find that the average drummer is a store
house of information that he hears OF
much that is going on of which the public
is not aware and he is very handy factor
to consider when making up an inventory
of my stock in trade.
TO sum up briefly, then, what makes
district work successful: A wide circle Of
friends, and, when you wish to reach them
quickly and cannot see them personally, a
telephone line in prime working order,
those friends fully understanding that no
responsibility will be thrown upon them
for acting as nformants.-trank H. Pope
IN The Writer.
New series of Postage stamps.
The new series Of postage stamps soon
! 90. l.. lfff1a IN